Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Cynthia Coyle is not happy with the way CB 29 is being handled. In a posting on the HCCA listserv, she asks Councilperson Mary Kay Sigaty “How does the County Council expect for the Columbia residents and organizations such as CA and the Village Boards to actually accomplish due diligence when amendments are being disseminated almost up until the date of testimony”

Since when does the council need to wait for special interest groups to conduct their own due diligence?

Cindy would be advised to remember that the Columbia Association is private homeowners association that is primarily charged with maintaining the open space and recreational facilities in Columbia, not setting zoning policy for the town. Its representatives, such as Cindy, are barely able to achieve any kind of legitimacy due to low voter turnout in the homeowner association elections.

Cindy goes on to complain that “It appears rushed and very disrespectful of the people of Columbia who simply are not getting a voice. “

Is Cindy insinuating that the duly elected members of the county council are not the voice of the people who elected them?

Who does she think they represent?

I think Cindy honestly believes that she represents the “people of Columbia” more than Mary Kay Sigaty. In her last election she received 315 votes out of a total of 500 cast. In her last election Mary Kay Sigaty received 13,798 votes of a total of 21,402 cast.

Based on these numbers Cindy Coyle’s voice is about as significant as this blog.

10
comments:

Cindy is always rushed on all decisions. Decisions are very stressful for her.

If several memebers of the CA Board had not obstructed any real discussion about downtown and the Villages during the past two years then maybe the CA Board could have been more relevant on this issue.CB29 is passsed them by.

This post is one of the best pieces written on the CA in a while. The members of the CA Board have long claimed a certain authority they really lack. What they don't understand is that they are ignored by everyone even as they tapdance their way through every conversation.

HCCA is the same way, and the board there has claimed to be the true representatives of Howard County. They only represent the two dozen groupthinkers on the list serve. In the mean time, the County Council represents the other 300k people here.

The attitudes and presumptions of grandeur the CA and HCCA boards hold and share is the reason they are ignored by actual decision makers.

It seems the pro-less zoning protection gaggle here was quite ok with Rouse having special gatekeeper status for decades to protect its interests, but now doesn't see Columbia's meager residents as worthy of similar consideration for continuing to protect that which the county saw worthy of and requiring gatekeeper status above and beyond just the Zoning Board. If the additional gatekeeper was wise for years, it only seems wise to preserve that protection by determining and requiring an appropriate new gatekeeper, rather than playing development roulette with Columbia.

CA's legitimacy is met whenever elections meet bylaws' quorum requirements, which has been the case.

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